Anyone go for a FWD XC60?

[taylora]

Originally Posted by Deman77

But for resale you will have a limited demand for non-AWD SUV as was said earlier.

Were rather alot of the previous gen XC60 2WD, did it make much difference on those?

[GuidoBrunetti]

Originally Posted by taylora

Were rather alot of the previous gen XC60 2WD, did it make much difference on those?

Actually NONE of the VEA engined previous generation XC60s were AWD.

Those posters who talk about the importance of the winter or all-season tyres are spot on - you might also stand a chance of stopping when you need to.

[MattDell]

Originally Posted by simonjedrake

Have you considered the impact that the FWD option will have on resale/trade in values when you sell it? The XC60 as an SUV is "expected" to have AWD and and FWD versions will IMHO have a marked reduction in 2nd hand values.

But if this a a company car purchase - then so what........!!!!

Yeah that did cross my mind. We're doing this on a PCP and probably won't buy it afterward, though there is a chance we might. I suppose in either scenario resale doesn't matter much.

[dchbrown]

Depending on what happens to emissions and taxation then a more efficient FWD model might be easier to sell than a less efficient AWD one...

[Sphinx2000]

Originally Posted by taylora

I only recently found out the difference between AWD and 4WD, for those like myself that were ignorant this is what I understand...

AWD is FWD pretty much all of the time unless the system senses wheel slip and will engage the rears. While 4WD is 100% of the time all four wheels driven.

So in the case of an AWD Volvo does that mean it'll only apply drive to the rears on slippery roads? So cruising is probably never going to engage the rears?

Explained more in detail here :

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/awd-vs-4wd/

[Haldex]

Originally Posted by Zebster

Why would a AWD be more secure during cruising conditions? Surely the benefit is merely drive traction when moving from stationary or while accelerating at low speed on a slippery surface?

Not quite. The system provides torque vectoring constantly- not only when accelerating or in slippery conditions. It neutralizes the understeer of the FW driven vehicles thus providing for a neutral handling characteristics.

Some info in this video. It's a few years old but it relates to Gen 5 Haldex found on SPA cars.

https://youtu.be/RxpbI0ABpoI?t=82

Originally Posted by Deman77

Not only that. Unlike German awd solutions Volvo’s are much more limited as to how much torque they can put through the back when they chose to do so - I think ours is 30% of the peak torque or so. So the only way they achieve 100% of current torque on rears is by breaking the front wheels as they detect slippage and that rear torque is tiny. That’s my rudimentary understanding.

Not true. Haldex Gen 5 (as found in Volvo SPA cars, but also in all VW/Audi transverse-engine AWD applications- eg. Golf R32, or S3 Quattro, Q3, etc..) distributes up to 50% to the rear, hence retaining a FWD/neutral drive bias at any given moment. Brakes are not used for front-rear torque distribution management.

[Haldex]

PS: as for resale of 2WD SUVs.. meh.. there's clearly a demand for these- as much as I personally don't understand the logic of buying a heavy, high center of gravity vehicle without an AWD - I'm sure there's a decent demand for used 2WD SUVs..

[Deman77]

There you go. Haldex knows his stuff. Please tell us what Porsche and bmw do and what Range Rover does to complete the picture.

[tangey]

Originally Posted by Zebster

Why would a AWD be more secure during cruising conditions? Surely the benefit is merely drive traction when moving from stationary or while accelerating at low speed on a slippery surface?

AWD won't improve braking or cornering. Winter tyres bring a greater improvement in snowy conditions.

I'm old fashioned, brake into a corner, accelerate out of a corner. AWD is definitely available when power is being applied hence it will come into play if traction is inconsistent in a corner, such as standing water or a section of poor fraction, or indeed mis-judging a corner. My experience is there are a lot of bends on roads.

Everything I have read does lead me to conclude that proper winter tyres are of great benefit in snow conditions.

[Haldex]

Originally Posted by Deman77

There you go. Haldex knows his stuff. Please tell us what Porsche and bmw do and what Range Rover does to complete the picture.

Porsche - previously Haldex (viscous clutch..) system, currently- a proprietary multiplate (dry..) clutch. It functions the same way as Haldex- but RWD biased..

BMW - a proprietary multiplate clutch, RWD biased.

M-B - a Magna-Steyr-developed viscous-coupling case- again, resembles how Haldex works.. Again- RWD biased.

RR - Torsen planetary differential (also used in VW/Audi longitudinal engine AWD application- eg. A4/6, Q5/7, etc..). Permanent 50/50 split, can shift up to 100% to either axle.